Cairo's pyramids, a four-night Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan, and the unforgettable temples of Abu Simbel — the single most complete week you can spend in Egypt.
Licensed Egyptian Tour Operator
Local Experts
Secure Booking
Flexible Payment
Multilingual Support
24/7 Assistance
Duration
7 days / 6 nights
Hotel pickup
Included
Format
Private / Small Group
Guide languages
EN · DE · RU · BG
Itinerary
Flexible
Free cancellation
Before deposit
Cities: Cairo, Luxor, Aswan
Published price applies to Small Group Tour from 4 to 8 travelers. Private and Large Group prices are available on request.
No payment is required before you receive and accept your quotation.
Professional Egyptologist guide
Your journey is led by a licensed Egyptologist trained at an Egyptian university. Multilingual support is available in English, German, Russian and Bulgarian — request your preferred language during booking.
Licensed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism
University degree in Egyptology or Archaeology
Preferred language requested during booking
If your first choice is unavailable, we agree an alternative language before confirmation
How pickup works
We collect you from your hotel lobby and return you at the end of the day. Airbnb and private apartment stays are welcome — we agree a nearby meeting point together.
Hotel lobby pickup
Our representative meets you by name in the hotel lobby a few minutes before departure and walks you to a private vehicle.
Room number for guests already in Egypt
If you are already checked in when booking, share your hotel and room number so we can call up if needed.
Airbnb or apartment stay
Send the exact address by email or WhatsApp. If it is outside the standard pickup zone we agree a nearby, easy-to-find meeting point.
Pickup time confirmed before the tour
The evening before, we confirm the exact pickup time and your driver's WhatsApp — so you leave without guesswork.
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Why choose this tour
After thirty years of guiding travellers across this country, I can tell you something honestly: most people who fly to Egypt for the first time underestimate it. They arrive expecting pyramids and leave overwhelmed by a civilisation that quietly rearranges the way they think about time. Seven days is the shortest window in which Egypt can really speak to you — long enough to stand at Giza, sail the Nile, walk into the Valley of the Kings, and feel the cool stone of Abu Simbel under your hand at sunrise.
This itinerary is the route I would book for my own family. We start in Cairo because nothing else in the world prepares you for the first sight of the Great Pyramid lifting itself out of the desert. We move to Luxor because the temples there are the loudest expression of ancient Egyptian power that survives anywhere. We sail the Nile because every traveller who has ever loved Egypt remembers the river first. And we end in Aswan because Aswan, with its Nubian villages and its honey-coloured light, is where Egypt softens and lets you breathe.
It is designed for travellers who only have one week but refuse to compromise. Couples on a honeymoon. Families introducing teenagers to the ancient world. Cultural travellers who have waited a lifetime to see the Pyramids. Anyone who values being looked after by people who actually live here. Every transfer is private, every guide is a licensed Egyptologist, every hotel is hand-picked, and every day has been paced so that you leave Egypt rested, not exhausted.
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Quick facts
Duration
7 days / 6 nights
Cities
Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Abu Simbel
Accommodation
5★ Cairo hotel · 5★ Nile cruiser
Transport
Private A/C vehicles · domestic flights
Meals
Daily breakfast · full board on cruise
Difficulty
Easy — moderate walking on temple visits
Best season
October to April
Languages
English, Bulgarian, German, Russian, French
Suitable for
Couples · families · solo · small groups
Departure
Daily, year-round
Style
Private guided tour
Confirmation
Instant · free cancellation 30 days prior
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Package highlights
Stand alone in front of the Great Pyramid
We time the Giza visit early, before the coaches arrive. You will have those first quiet minutes with the Great Pyramid almost to yourselves — the moment most travellers say they remember more vividly than any photograph.
Walk through the Grand Egyptian Museum
Opened in stages over recent years, the GEM is now the largest archaeological museum on earth. Your guide takes you straight to the Tutankhamun galleries and the colossal statue of Ramses II — without queues, without confusion.
Karnak Temple at first light
We open the day at Karnak before the sun is high. The Hypostyle Hall, with its 134 columns, feels like a forest carved from stone. You will understand instantly why pharaohs spent two thousand years adding to it.
Four nights aboard a 5-star Nile cruiser
Your floating hotel between Luxor and Aswan: panoramic windows, a sun deck with a pool, full board cuisine and the slow, mesmerising rhythm of the river that defined Egypt for five thousand years.
Abu Simbel at sunrise
The two temples Ramses II carved into a Nubian cliff are arguably the most astonishing rescue project UNESCO has ever undertaken. Standing in front of them as the sun climbs is one of those rare travel moments that earns its reputation.
Nubian Aswan
A motor-boat across to Philae Temple, a felucca around Elephantine Island, optional dinner in a Nubian home in Gharb Soheil — Aswan is where Egypt slows down and the colours turn gold and indigo.
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Complete day-by-day itinerary
Day 1
Arrival in Cairo
Your journey begins the moment you walk out of Cairo International Airport. One of our representatives will be waiting with a name board, handle your visa-on-arrival if you choose that option, and escort you to a private air-conditioned vehicle. The drive into the city is your first conversation with Cairo — twenty-two million people, the Nile threading through the centre, satellite dishes on every rooftop and the call to prayer rising five times a day.
Afternoon
Check-in at your 5-star hotel near the Giza plateau or in central Cairo, depending on your preference. The rest of the afternoon is yours to rest, swim, or take a short orientation walk with your guide.
Evening
Optional welcome dinner at a Nile-side restaurant where we recommend trying the classic Egyptian mezze — koshari, molokhia, grilled kofta — paired with karkadeh, the cold hibiscus tea Egyptians drink all summer.
Meals
No meals included on arrival day (welcome dinner optional).
Accommodation
Marriott Mena House (Pyramid view) or equivalent 5★ Cairo hotel.
Transport
Private A/C vehicle from CAI airport.
Guide tip
Sleep early tonight. Tomorrow's start is intentionally early — we want you at the pyramids before the coach groups arrive from Sharm and Hurghada.
Day 2
Giza Pyramids, Sphinx & the Grand Egyptian Museum
This is the day every traveller dreams about. Your private Egyptologist meets you in the lobby after breakfast and drives straight to the Giza plateau — fifteen minutes from Mena House.
Morning
We approach the Great Pyramid first. Your guide will walk you through how it was actually built (no, not by slaves, and yes, almost certainly by skilled paid workers who lived in a planned village whose remains we can show you). There is time to enter the pyramid if you wish — a narrow, hot, unforgettable climb to the King's Chamber. Then to the Sphinx, the panoramic viewpoint where all nine pyramids line up, and an optional short camel ride along the western desert edge.
Afternoon
Lunch at a local Egyptian restaurant overlooking the plateau, then the brand-new Grand Egyptian Museum. Your guide takes you straight to the Tutankhamun galleries — for the first time in history, the full 5,000-piece treasure of the boy king is displayed together — and the Grand Staircase, lined with colossal statues. Allow two to three hours; the museum rewards every minute.
Evening
Return to your hotel. Optional Sound and Light show at the Pyramids in the evening.
Meals
Breakfast at the hotel · lunch included.
Accommodation
Marriott Mena House or equivalent.
Transport
Private A/C vehicle and Egyptologist throughout.
Guide tip
Wear closed shoes. The plateau is fine sand and small stones. Bring 2 EUR in cash if you want to take photos inside the pyramid — phones only, no flash.
Early morning flight to Luxor — barely an hour in the air, but a thousand years deeper into Egyptian history. Your Luxor guide meets you at the airport.
Morning
Karnak Temple, the largest religious complex ever built by human hands. The Hypostyle Hall is the section everyone photographs, but the parts most travellers miss are the sacred lake, the chapel of Sekhmet (still kept in semi-darkness as it was three thousand years ago) and the surviving obelisks of Hatshepsut and Thutmose I.
Afternoon
Lunch on board your Nile cruiser, then a short drive to Luxor Temple — the only major temple in Egypt connected to Karnak by a fully restored avenue of sphinxes. Luxor Temple is best visited in late afternoon, when the light turns the sandstone amber. Your guide explains how every pharaoh from the New Kingdom added a wall or a courtyard to leave their mark.
Evening
Welcome cocktail on the sun deck as the cruiser prepares to sail. Dinner buffet on board and optional folkloric show.
Meals
Breakfast · lunch and dinner on board.
Accommodation
Sonesta St. George, Movenpick Royal Lily or equivalent 5★ Nile cruiser.
Transport
Domestic flight CAI–LXR · private transfer to cruise.
Guide tip
Pack a light scarf — Karnak in winter mornings is cooler than you expect, and useful for shoulders when entering chapels.
Day 4
Valley of the Kings · Hatshepsut · Colossi of Memnon · Sail to Edfu
The West Bank of Luxor is where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom hid their tombs and built their funerary temples. We start early to beat the heat and the crowds.
Morning
The Valley of the Kings — sixty-four tombs discovered so far, of which three are open with the standard ticket on any given day. Your guide selects the best-preserved options on the morning, almost always including KV2 (Ramses IV) and KV11 (Ramses III). The tomb of Tutankhamun is an optional extra ticket — small but historically extraordinary, with his mummy still inside.
Afternoon
The temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, three terraces of pale limestone carved into the cliff. The Colossi of Memnon — two seated giants, all that remains of the largest mortuary temple ever built in Egypt. Back on board for lunch and afternoon sailing south. The countryside slides past: farmers in djellabas, water buffalo, children waving from the riverbank. This is the part of the cruise no traveller forgets.
Evening
Galabeya (traditional dress) party on board — relaxed, fun, and easy to opt out of.
Meals
Breakfast · lunch and dinner on board.
Accommodation
5★ Nile cruiser.
Transport
Private A/C vehicle on West Bank · cruise sailing south.
Guide tip
Bring small Egyptian pound notes for the guardians inside the tombs who let you photograph quietly. Cameras are now allowed inside almost all tombs with a single 6 EUR photo permit — buy it at the ticket office.
Day 5
Edfu · Kom Ombo · Sail to Aswan
Two of the most beautifully preserved Ptolemaic temples in Egypt — and the gentlest, most cinematic day of the cruise.
Morning
Edfu Temple, dedicated to the falcon god Horus, is the best-preserved temple in the country. Walls forty metres high, complete roof in places, and reliefs so sharp you can still read the daily ritual schedule of the priests. We arrive by horse-drawn carriage from the dock — a small tradition every cruise still keeps.
Afternoon
Back on board. Sailing through the lock of Esna is a quiet highlight: vendors row out in tiny boats, throwing scarves up to the sun deck and shouting prices. Around 4 PM we reach Kom Ombo, the only Egyptian temple dedicated to two gods at once — Sobek the crocodile and Horus the falcon. Beside it, the small Crocodile Museum displays mummified crocodiles unearthed from the temple grounds.
Evening
Sailing into Aswan at sunset. Your captain will time it carefully — the Nile here narrows between granite islands and the light turns the water copper.
Meals
Breakfast · lunch and dinner on board.
Accommodation
5★ Nile cruiser docked in Aswan.
Transport
Cruise sailing · horse-carriage to Edfu Temple.
Guide tip
If you take only one sundeck moment of the whole trip, make it this one. Bring a sweater — the air on the water cools fast after the sun drops.
Day 6
Optional Abu Simbel · Philae Temple · High Dam · Felucca
An optional early start for Abu Simbel — strongly recommended. We leave the cruiser around 4 AM, 3 hours by private vehicle through the eastern desert, and arrive at sunrise.
Morning
Abu Simbel is the temple Ramses II carved into a Nubian cliff to remind the southern neighbours of his glory. In the 1960s, when the construction of the High Dam threatened to flood it, UNESCO cut both temples into 1,036 pieces and reassembled them, sixty metres higher, on an artificial mountain. It is the largest archaeological rescue ever attempted, and the result is so seamless most visitors do not realise the rock above is hollow concrete.
Afternoon
Return to Aswan around lunchtime. Visit the Philae Temple of Isis — also rescued and rebuilt on Agilkia Island, reached by motorboat. Then the Aswan High Dam, the engineering project that changed Egyptian agriculture forever. Late afternoon felucca ride around Elephantine Island and the Botanical Garden of Lord Kitchener — the slowest, most beautiful sail on the river.
Evening
Optional dinner in a Nubian home in Gharb Soheil — colourful houses, indigo skies, and the best home cooking in the south.
Meals
Breakfast and lunch on board. Optional Nubian dinner.
Accommodation
5★ Nile cruiser.
Transport
Private A/C vehicle to Abu Simbel · motorboat to Philae · felucca on Nile.
Guide tip
Yes, Abu Simbel is an early start. Yes, it is worth it. In 30 years of guiding, no one has ever told me they regretted going.
Day 7
Aswan · Fly to Cairo · Departure
Breakfast on board, disembark, and a private transfer to Aswan airport for your flight to Cairo.
Morning
Disembark cruise and transfer to Aswan airport.
Afternoon
Depending on your international flight, we can arrange a day-use room at a Cairo hotel near the airport, a Khan El Khalili evening with a guide, or a direct transfer to Cairo International for departure.
Evening
Private transfer to Cairo International Airport for your homeward flight.
Meals
Breakfast on board.
Transport
Domestic flight ASW–CAI · private transfer to CAI airport.
Guide tip
Allow at least 4 hours between your domestic landing in Cairo and your international departure. Traffic between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 / 3 is unpredictable.
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Attractions you will visit
The Great Pyramid of Khufu
Built around 2560 BC for the pharaoh Khufu, the Great Pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one still standing. For 3,800 years it was the tallest building on earth. Two and a half million stone blocks, each weighing on average 2.5 tons, fitted together with such precision that, even today, you cannot slide a knife blade between many of them. Recent scanning projects have identified hidden voids within the structure that we still cannot enter. Standing at its base, looking up, the scale resets your sense of what humans can build. Inside, the Grand Gallery climbs at a precise twenty-six-degree angle to the King's Chamber, where the empty granite sarcophagus is too wide to have passed through the entrance — meaning the chamber was built around it.
Photography
Best photographs from the panoramic viewpoint southwest of the pyramids, where all three of the main pyramids line up. Early morning light is warmer; late afternoon gives the sharper shadows.
Recommended visit time
Plan 2.5 to 3 hours on the plateau, including the Sphinx.
The Great Sphinx of Giza
Carved from a single limestone outcrop on the Giza plateau, the Sphinx is 73 metres long and 20 metres tall. Most Egyptologists associate it with the pharaoh Khafre, who built the second pyramid, though some argue it is older. Its missing nose is the subject of more legends than almost any other monument in Egypt — Napoleon's soldiers, Mamluk Sufis, time itself; the truth is we do not know exactly when or why it was lost. What you see today is the result of careful restoration of the body, which had been buried up to the neck in sand for most of its history. Stand in front of it for five quiet minutes. The face has watched empires rise and fall for forty-five centuries.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)
Two kilometres from the pyramids, this is the largest archaeological museum in the world dedicated to a single civilisation. The atrium opens with the eleven-metre, eighty-three-ton colossus of Ramses II, brought here from the old central station in Cairo. The Grand Staircase climbs past dozens of monumental statues to a panoramic window framing the pyramids themselves. The Tutankhamun galleries — open in their full form for the first time in history — display the complete 5,000-piece treasure recovered by Howard Carter in 1922, including the iconic gold mask. Take your time on the upper floor: the everyday objects of New Kingdom life, the chariots, the model boats, are the pieces most travellers remember in the months after they return home.
Recommended visit time
Allow 2.5 to 4 hours. Less than that and you will miss the heart of it.
Karnak Temple
Karnak is not a temple. It is a city of temples — the work of thirty pharaohs over almost two thousand years, between 2055 BC and 100 BC. The Hypostyle Hall, the section every visitor photographs first, is 5,000 square metres roofed by 134 stone columns, the central twelve of which stand 21 metres tall. Originally these columns were painted in vivid blues, reds and yellows; traces of pigment still survive in the protected upper sections. Beyond the Hypostyle Hall, the complex continues for over a kilometre — chapels, obelisks, a sacred lake where priests purified themselves, and a quiet courtyard with the surviving obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut, the tallest standing obelisk in Egypt. Karnak is exhausting if rushed; an experienced guide knows which side chapels are worth the detour and which to skip.
Photography
The light through the Hypostyle Hall columns is best between 9 and 11 AM. The avenue of ram-headed sphinxes at the entrance is most photogenic in late afternoon.
Recommended visit time
Allow 2 to 2.5 hours.
Luxor Temple
Smaller than Karnak, but more intimate, Luxor Temple was the religious heart of ancient Thebes — built primarily by Amenhotep III and expanded by Ramses II. The colonnade of fourteen 21-metre columns is one of the most elegant single spaces in Egyptian architecture. The temple is unusual in that it has been continuously sacred ground for thirty-four centuries: in the corner of the first courtyard, a 13th-century mosque (Abu Haggag) still stands on top of the ancient walls, its mihrab pointing through the temple to Mecca. The recently restored Avenue of Sphinxes, three kilometres long, now connects Luxor Temple directly to Karnak — a walk worth doing in the cool of the early morning.
Photography
Visit late afternoon and stay until after dark. The temple is beautifully lit and almost empty between 7 and 8 PM.
Valley of the Kings
For 500 years — from around 1539 to 1075 BC — the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried in this dry desert valley on the West Bank of Luxor, hidden from grave robbers by sheer geography. Sixty-four tombs have been discovered. The standard ticket admits you to three. The tombs are not just burial chambers: they are illustrated guidebooks to the afterlife, their walls covered with the Book of Gates, the Litany of Ra, the Amduat — instructions the dead pharaoh would need to navigate the twelve hours of the underworld. The tomb of Ramses VI (KV9) has perhaps the most spectacular astronomical ceiling. The tomb of Seti I (KV17), open intermittently with a separate ticket, is so finely painted it remains the artistic standard against which every other tomb in Egypt is measured.
Photography
Buy the 6 EUR photo permit at the ticket office before entering. Without it your camera will be held at the entrance.
Recommended visit time
Plan 2 to 2.5 hours including walking and queues.
Temple of Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut, the woman who became pharaoh in her own right around 1479 BC, built her mortuary temple in three colonnaded terraces against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. The architectural symmetry is breathtaking — and almost completely unique in the ancient world. After her death, her stepson Thutmose III tried to erase her image from history; you can still see the chiselled-out reliefs where her cartouche was destroyed. Walk the upper terrace and look back: the framing of the Nile valley below, with the cliffs rising sheer behind you, is one of the great architectural views on earth.
Edfu Temple
Dedicated to the falcon god Horus and built between 237 and 57 BC, Edfu is the most completely preserved temple in Egypt. The pylons stand thirty-six metres high. The roof survives over the hypostyle hall. The inscriptions on the inner walls are so detailed they describe, day by day, the ritual schedule of the priests — the cleaning of the statues, the offerings of bread and beer, the festival processions. This is the temple where you understand how an Egyptian temple actually functioned in daily life.
Kom Ombo Temple
The only ancient Egyptian temple dedicated equally to two gods — Sobek, the crocodile god of fertility and danger, and Horus the Elder, the god of healing. Everything in the temple is doubled: two sanctuaries, two halls, two sets of reliefs. On a wall behind the sanctuary you will find one of the earliest known depictions of medical instruments — scalpels, forceps, even something that looks like a birthing chair. Next door, the small Crocodile Museum displays around forty mummified crocodiles excavated from the area.
Abu Simbel — The Great Temple of Ramses II
Ramses II carved this temple directly into a Nubian sandstone cliff in the 13th century BC, partly as worship of the gods Ra, Amun and Ptah, and partly as propaganda — four colossal seated statues of himself, twenty metres tall, facing the rising sun and the southern frontier. Twice a year, on 22 February and 22 October, the morning sun penetrates sixty metres into the temple and illuminates three of the four statues in the inner sanctuary. The fourth, Ptah god of darkness, remains in shadow. The rescue operation of the 1960s — when UNESCO cut both temples into 1,036 blocks and reassembled them sixty metres higher to save them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser — is itself one of the great engineering stories of the twentieth century.
Photography
Best light is between 6:30 and 8 AM. Photography is not permitted inside either temple.
Philae Temple of Isis
Built by the Ptolemies and the Romans on the island of Philae, this temple was the last functioning ancient Egyptian temple in the world — closed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian only in 537 AD. Like Abu Simbel, it was rescued in the 1970s and reassembled stone by stone on the higher island of Agilkia. The approach by motorboat at sunset, when the surrounding water turns gold, is one of the loveliest arrivals in Egypt. The Sound and Light show here is genuinely well done — atmospheric rather than kitsch.
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Hotels
Cairo
Marriott Mena House
5★ Heritage
The most legendary hotel in Cairo, set in twelve acres of jasmine gardens with rooms that look directly at the Great Pyramid. Built in 1869 as a royal hunting lodge, it has hosted everyone from Empress Eugenie to Winston Churchill. Pyramid-view rooms are worth every extra euro — pulling the curtains in the morning is a memory you keep.
Cairo (alternative)
Four Seasons Nile Plaza
5★ Luxury Riverside
Central Cairo on the Corniche, perfect if you also want to explore Zamalek, Islamic Cairo and the new GEM. Large rooms, multiple restaurants, an outdoor pool overlooking the Nile.
Nile Cruiser
Sonesta St. George
5★ Deluxe Cruiser
One of the most stable, well-run cruisers on the river. Spacious panoramic-window cabins, a sun deck pool, and a kitchen that serves the best buffet of any cruiser currently operating between Luxor and Aswan.
Nile Cruiser (alternative)
Movenpick Royal Lily
5★ Premium Cruiser
Larger cabins, contemporary design, an excellent spa and a more international menu. Ideal for travellers who prefer hotel-style comfort over traditional decor.
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Nile cruise
Deluxe 5★ Nile cruiser
For four nights you will live on the Nile. The cruiser is your hotel, your restaurant, your viewing platform and your gentle sleeping cradle as the river moves you south. Egypt was built on this water. To understand the country you must spend at least three nights aboard one of these floating decks.
Panoramic-window cabins, twin or double, all en-suite with A/C
Sun deck with freshwater pool, loungers and shaded bar
Three meals daily — full board, buffet and à la carte
Lounge bar with live oud music, evening folkloric and galabeya parties
Spa, sauna and small fitness area on most 5-star cruisers
Wi-Fi on board (signal varies as the cruiser sails)
Free bottled water and tea / coffee on the sun deck
Mornings on the cruise are for temples — Karnak, the West Bank, Edfu, Kom Ombo. Afternoons are for the river. You will find yourself drifting up to the sun deck with a glass of mint tea, watching villages slide past where children still bathe water buffalo in the shallows. Evenings are slow: a quiet dinner, a folkloric show, and the soft sound of the engines as you sail through the night.
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Transportation
Airport transfers
Every airport transfer in this package is private. A driver and a meet-and-greet representative wait inside the terminal with a name board, handle your luggage, and escort you to a modern air-conditioned vehicle. No queueing for taxis, no negotiating, no surprises.
Domestic flights
We use EgyptAir for the Cairo–Luxor and Aswan–Cairo legs. Flights are short — around 70 minutes each — and we always select the most convenient timings. Your guide handles check-in support.
Private city vehicles
Modern Toyota Hiace or Mercedes Sprinter for groups, sedan or SUV for couples and small families. Every vehicle is air-conditioned, fully insured, regularly inspected, and driven by an experienced professional driver who works with our guides daily.
Cruise sailing
Your cruiser sails between Luxor and Aswan with all temple-visit transfers included. The horse-drawn carriage to Edfu Temple from the dock is part of the daily program.
What is included
All accommodation as listed: 5★ Cairo hotel (2 nights) and 5★ Nile cruiser (4 nights)
Daily breakfast at the Cairo hotel · full board on the Nile cruise
All sightseeing as per itinerary with private licensed Egyptologist guides
All entrance fees to mentioned monuments, temples and museums
Domestic flights Cairo–Luxor and Aswan–Cairo with EgyptAir
All airport, hotel and cruise transfers in modern private A/C vehicles
Meet-and-greet assistance at every airport with a representative inside the terminal
Bottled water and refreshments during sightseeing days
All taxes and service charges
24/7 phone support from our Cairo office throughout your stay
What is not included
International flights to and from Egypt
Egyptian entry visa (25 USD, available on arrival or in advance — we assist either way)
Travel insurance (mandatory; we strongly recommend a policy covering medical and cancellation)
Optional Abu Simbel by private vehicle or charter flight (price on request)
Optional entry to the Great Pyramid interior (extra ticket on the day)
Optional entry to the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings
Drinks, except those listed in full board on the cruise
Tipping for guides, drivers and cruise staff (guideline of 8–12 EUR per traveller per day)
Personal expenses, laundry and items of personal nature
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Optional experiences
Hot Air Balloon over Luxor
A 45-minute sunrise flight over the West Bank — the Valley of the Kings, the Ramesseum and the Nile beneath you in pink and gold light. From approximately 95 EUR per person. Most travellers say it is the single best optional experience of their trip.
Sound and Light at Karnak or Philae
An atmospheric, beautifully produced evening show that brings the temples to life in spoken narration and floodlights. Karnak in winter, Philae in summer. From 35 EUR per person.
Nubian village dinner in Gharb Soheil
Cross to the west bank by motorboat, walk into one of the painted Nubian houses, and share a slow dinner with a Nubian family. Tagines, fresh bread, hibiscus juice and live percussion. The most authentic evening you can have in Aswan. From 45 EUR per person.
Entry to the Great Pyramid interior
A 36 EUR ticket bought on the day. The climb is steep and the chamber is hot, but the experience of standing inside the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World is unforgettable.
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Best time to visit
Egypt has two genuine travel seasons. October through April is the peak — temperatures in Cairo and Luxor are pleasant (18–28°C), the air is dry, and the light is the softest of the year. December and January around Christmas, New Year and the European school holidays are the busiest weeks; book at least three months ahead.
May through September is shoulder and low season. Upper Egypt — Luxor and Aswan — gets very hot (often 40°C+), but mornings are still bearable for temple visits, and prices on cruises drop sharply. If you can handle the heat, July and August are wonderful for travellers who prefer empty temples.
Specific dates worth knowing: 22 February and 22 October are the solar alignment days at Abu Simbel — moving and beautiful, but the temple is crowded. Ramadan affects evening dining hours but not sightseeing. The Coptic Easter weekend and Sham El Nessim (spring festival) are the only times we recommend avoiding for major monuments due to local crowds.
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Before you travel
Passport and visa
Passport must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry. Most nationalities can buy a single-entry tourist visa on arrival at the airport for 25 USD cash. EU nationals, US, UK, Canadian, Australian and most Asian passports qualify. Alternatively you can apply for the e-visa online before travel.
Currency and tipping
The Egyptian pound (EGP) is the local currency. ATMs are widely available in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan. Many restaurants and hotels accept Euros and USD. Tipping (baksheesh) is part of the culture — guides 10 EUR per day, drivers 5 EUR per day, cruise staff a collective 25 EUR per traveller for the cruise. Always travel with small notes.
What to pack
Light layers for winter mornings (a fleece is enough). Closed walking shoes for the pyramids and tombs. A wide-brim hat and good sunglasses. Modest clothing for visits to mosques and Coptic churches (shoulders and knees covered). High-factor sunscreen — the Egyptian sun is stronger than it looks.
Health and safety
No vaccinations are required. Drink bottled water (we provide it daily). Egypt is one of the safest tourist countries in the region — your guide and driver are with you throughout, and our 24/7 emergency line is yours from the moment you land.
Connectivity
Buy a local Vodafone or Orange SIM at the airport on arrival — around 10 EUR for generous data. Wi-Fi works well in hotels and on most cruisers, though signal on the river itself can drop between cities.
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Why book with EGT Luxury Travel
Licensed Egyptian guides who work with us full time
Every guide on this itinerary is a graduate of the Faculty of Tourism, licensed by the Ministry, and works with us under long-term contracts — not freelance pickups. The same person you meet at the airport will be there at the end of your trip.
Our own ground team in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan
Not a reseller. We operate this trip directly, with our offices and representatives in every city you visit. When something needs to be solved, it is solved within the hour.
Hand-picked hotels and cruisers
We do not work with the cheapest 5-star. We work with the ones we have personally tested and where the housekeeping, food and service are reliably excellent year after year.
Transparent pricing, no hidden surprises
Every cost you will encounter is listed in the included / excluded sections above. No optional excursion is forced. No tip envelope is awkward. The price you see is the price you pay.
24/7 support from the moment you land
A single WhatsApp number, answered by a human in our Cairo office, around the clock. If your flight is delayed at 3 AM, someone is awake for you.
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Frequently asked questions
Perfect for
Families with children of any age
Couples and honeymooners
Luxury travellers
History and culture lovers
Nile cruise guests extending their itinerary
Travellers who prefer a flexible pace
Before you book
A short checklist so we can prepare the smoothest possible experience for you.
Bring a passport copy or valid ID for site checkpoints
Comfortable walking shoes
Sun protection: hat, sunglasses, sunscreen
Small cash in EGP or EUR for optional purchases
Camera or phone with plenty of storage
Hotel details can be confirmed later if you are still outside Egypt
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I receive my quotation?
Fill in the short request form or write to us on WhatsApp. Our local team prepares a personalised quotation and sends it by email, usually within a few hours on business days.
Can I choose the guide language?
Yes — English, German, Russian and Bulgarian speaking Egyptologists are available. Request your preferred language during booking; if it is unavailable for your date we agree an alternative before confirmation.
Can I customise the itinerary?
Absolutely. Add or remove sites, change the pace, extend to Luxor or the Red Sea, upgrade hotels — the quotation is built around your version of the trip.
Is pickup included?
Yes — hotel or apartment pickup and drop-off in the tour city are included with a private, air-conditioned vehicle.
Can I change hotel later?
Yes. Send the new address by email or WhatsApp — we update the pickup at no extra cost within our standard zone.
How do I pay the deposit?
After you accept the quotation we send a secure payment link with card and bank-transfer options. Deposit and balance terms are stated clearly in every quotation.
What if my flight is delayed?
Message our 24/7 support on WhatsApp with your new arrival time. For airport transfers we track your flight; for tour days we shift the pickup to fit the delay whenever operationally possible.
Can children join?
Yes — private and small-group tours are family-friendly. Share the ages of children when requesting the quote so we can size the vehicle, adjust the pace and confirm child rates.
Ready to plan your private Egypt experience?
Share your dates and preferences — our local team will prepare a tailored quotation within hours. No payment required.
